Puér'echalonuá (Salt Reed)

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[Eldor Delrossa]

Hello there Santharians. This is the first entry that I've done in a while, so I apologize if it is not up to par with the standards of the site at the moment. Hopefully you all can help me polish it. I also apologize for my long absence, and hope that this entry will allow me to begin the process of re-integration into this lovely community. Thanks you much!

Puér'echalonuá (Salt Reed)

a) Categorization
Water Plants

b) Basic Overview of the Plant
Puér’echalonuá (Styrash Lit. “Salt Wood-Grass") or Salt Reed, as it is known to the Blue Druids, is variety of reed that grows in great numbers and creates a barrier at the mouth of the Liben river. This rare plant possesses the unique ability to filter the majority of salt out of saltwater bay as it flows into the river. As a result, the Liben is left fresh and made perfect for use as drinking water for the Injerin Elves and the Kuglimz tribes. It is prized by the Arthryon Elves for the salt that it collects, as they use this in their cooking, and also trade it to other tribes for an abundant profit.


c) Description
Salt Reed is rather average in appearance, with its dull cinnabrown palor and general lack of vivid color. Growing to an average height of 1 Ped and 1 Fore, this can be a tough plant to move through, especially considering that they grow together in dense clusters. Its stalks form as a slender, pole-like structure, that widens considerably to create a bulb-like formation that is barsadusk in hue on the upper two palmspans of the plant. Running up and down this plant are hundreds of tiny bumps that allow the plant to catch salt. Researchers are uncertain as to what allows these portrusions to attract salt, only that it is densely clustered upon them.  When salt has not been harvested in quite some time, it begins to build up, giving the reeds the appearance of being covered in snow. For one that is unfamiliar with this plant, that sight alone would be enough to boggle their mind. Beneath the surface of the water, the reeds cling to the riverbed, using strong root-like structures to anchor them and to prevent them from being swept away by the strong river current. Luckily these plants are hardy, as the soil of a riverbed is often poor in nutrients for such plants.

d) Territory
Salt Reed grows in many places upon Northern Sarvonia, but is well-known for its presence at the mouth of the Liben river. This plant is so hardy that it even manages to survive on the icy continent of Cyhalloi. It is well-equipped to deal with the harsh weather of its immediate surroundings, with its strong root system anchoring it to the riverbed.

e) Usages
The primary use for the Salt Reed is its ability to collect salt from saltwater bay as it flows into the Liben river. The Arthryon elves harvest this salt from the reeds as it collects over time. The Blessed Sea Elves realize that the Liben provides life for many living creatures south of the Bay, so they have developed a way of harvesting the salt without cutting down the Reed. They use a special metal tool to scrape salt off of the Reed's buds. Only very trusted members of their society are permitted to harvest, as it is very delicate work. The elves must be careful not to damage the buds in any way, so that the reeds may continue to purify the Liben. They use the salt that they harvest in the majority of their cooking, and it is also an invaluable commodity that they trade with surrounding tribes. This traded salt is shipped to many parts of both Northern and Southern Sarvonia.

The Blue Druids that live on the island of Únn'chrónn also have a special interest in these plants, but they do not possess the same motive as the Blessed Sea Elves. Their main focus is in regards to the properties that the plant possesses. They hold this plant to be sacred to nature, as it purifies the water of the Liben river, and therefore providing a source of life to all the creatures and people that benefit from it. For this reason, they study and observe the plant in great detail, and go to great lengths to protect them from anyone with a destructive intention. They value this plant for its seemingly miraculous ability to provide life for those south of Eight Winds Bay.

f) Reproduction
The Salt Reed plant has a long life span for a plant of this type, living up to five years before it dies. When the plant is getting ready to die, it begins growing a heavy stone-like seed with rhizomes extending from it. It is actually made of incredibly dense ryand compacted wood inside of the bud at its very top. When it becomes heavy enough, the bud breaks off and sinks to the bottom of the river bed. The rhizomes almost immediately begin to attach themselves into the river soil, ensuring the seed will not be swept away. As the plant grows inisde of this protective casing, it will begin to burst through the seed as the outer layer weakens considerably. The plant then grows rather quickly, taking approximately one week to reach full maturity.

g) Myth/Lore/Origins
Scholars believe that the Salt Reed is a close relative of the Yealm Reed, a similar plant that also purifies water. This theory is supported by the fact that both plants seem to flourish in colder temperatures.

Some members of the Blue Druids that hold beliefs in the Twelvern Pantheon believe that the Goddess Baveras created the reeds from the water inside of an ancient tree, giving it the hard, wooden properties that it possesses. The reason behind this was that the water goddess was providing for her children, namely the different creatures and peoples that depend upon the river for survival. The following is a short poem composed by a female Blue Druid named Water Lily:

River you flourish
Under Baveras' watchful eye
Life you nourish
Under Grothar's sou'cald sky

Blessed reed I thank you
For your gift of life from above
Water cleanse me anew
With a water Goddess' love

[Altario Shialt-eck-Gorrin]

Caught my eye, as I think I had a small part of this plants genesis.  My memory could be bad, admittedly and I might have just wished I had a part in it.   Unfortunately I am in the midsts of moving, and I have no time to uri this.  My quick perusal did, however, spot something.  I think we should not limit this exclusively to the mouth of the Liben, as we may need this little pearl to make sense of other instances where the map and content do not match.  Maybe rephrase it as that the mouth of the Liben is the most well known area this place reed can be found.  I know that the northern most areas of Iol, there are rivers etc that look like they may spring from salt water areas, and I'd hate for us to limit any further uses.

[Deklitch Hardin]

Welcome back Eldor! Great to have you around again.

A few comments from me ...

- I think that Altario's suggestion regarding the location of the plant is a good one ... may widen its scope somewhat, but still just keep it in Northern Sarvonia state that it loves the cold ... so maybe also mention it as being in Cyhalloi.

- In the heading, you refer to it as Salt-Reed ... then throughout as Salt Reed ... probably better to pick one or the other ... I think Salt-Reed is better personally (even if it means I have to change 8WB entry to match  )

Have an aura from me.

[Seeker]

Looks good Eldor.    Just a couple of items:

1)  I would not say salt is the main component of their diet.  As this implies the majority of the meal is salt with a few other ingredients.  Perhaps you mean it is commonly used or it is the most often used ingredient, or that it is used in almost all their receipts.

2)  When the salt is harested do they cut down the reed?  Perhaps this can be explained.  In fact my real question is,  do they use the read itself for anything, food, basketry etc.

Again good entry and matches well what is in the eight winds bay entry.   

[Bard Judith]

I know I did a reed that cleans and purifies water, so a crossreference to that might be good - they are doubtless a related species.  

Ah yes, the Yealm Reed.  Have a look!

http://www.santharia.com/herbarium/yealm_reed.htm

[Shabakuk Zeborius Anfang]

Hi Eldor,

It's great to have you back on the Development Board! And it's fantastic to have an entry on the Salt Reed, not least because this will be a good entry to refer to when explaining the oddity that is the Liben River to people unfamiliar with Northern Sarvonia.

A few questions and comments:

Description Section: First you say that the Salt Reed is "average" in appearance, but later you say that a reed that has been collecting salt for some time is a sight to boggle the mind. This seems somewhat contradictory. Maybe you could say something like: "On first sight, the Salt Reed might seem rather plain (or: undistinguished) in appearance, with its dull cinnabrown ..." (etc.)

Usages Section: How exactly is the salt harvested? Do you just cut off the bumps where the salt collects? And if so, does this harm the reed at all? If so, there could be a certain conflict of interest between the Arthyrón and the Blue Druids?

Usages Section again:

Their goal is to preserve the delicate balance of the eco-system within Eight Winds Bay.

I think that "delicate balance of the eco-system" doesn't fit into Santharia: too modern language. Also, since the Liben flows from  the Eight Winds Bay, rather than towards it, I don't understand how the Liben impacts on the Bay's eco-system. Maybe you could say something lilke: "Their goal is to preserve the Reed, as they know that many plants and animals that live in the lands south of the Eight Winds Bay depend on the fresh water that the Liben river brings..."

Poem: Very nice! Excellent flowing rhythm! I like it! Aura!

[Deklitch Hardin]

Just a few comments from me on this one for you Eldor.

1) Other uses of it ... personally, I'd prefer it if the BSE didn't cut down the reed and use it for other things, as they believe it would wreck the water of the Libern River. Maybe other tribes might cut it down and use their versions of the salt-reed for something, but not the BSE.

2) Harvesting the salt ... like Master Anfang suggests, a bit more of a description of how the BSE harvest the salt would be good. I'd be happy with anything you want to come up with for it, apart from them actually cutting down the reeds.

3) Regarding the diets of the BSE, I think that Seeker makes great suggestions there regarding it. I meant to suggest in my 8WB entry that it was a commonly used ingredient, or the wording suggested by Seeker. Sorry if my entry confuzzled you with that.

Great entry and an enjoyable read.

+ Aura from me.

[Eldor Delrossa]

Alrighty, I was finally able to finish edits on this entry now that I have internet back. Unfortunately I was with out it for a few weeks due to financial issues. Thankfully that's all mostly sorted out now. My edits are in orange.

@Dek: I removed the hyphen from the header. I thought I would save you the trouble of having to pull the entry back out and add a hyphen to every occurrence of "Salt Reed", and then have Arti fix it. If you'd really prefer the hyphen it isn't a problem and I can fix it in the entry. Thanks!

@Judy and anyone else who may have advice: I briefly mentioned the Yealm Read in the origin section. Forgive my clueless nature (I haven't the faintest idea about cross-referencing), but is that okay, or do you have any suggestions for me as to how I could better do this? I apologize for my ignorance on the subject. I'm not trying to be lazy, I'm just a bit confused. Sorry if I'm a bit thick sometimes. If you could help me I'm sure it would make any future entries that much better. Thanks!

[Shabakuk Zeborius Anfang]

Eldor, I think it's flattering for Santharia that you keep making the effort of coming back, even though circumstances seem to conspire against you. I, for one, will always be happy to see you around whenever you manage to come.

Anyway, I like the changes you made. There's just one little thing I noticed:

This plant is so hearty that it even manages to survive on the icy continent of Cyhalloi.

... hardy ....

[Deklitch Hardin]

I love the changes you have made Eldor! Also yeah ... Salt Reed is cool with me as well.

Just attend to that last correction of Master Anfang's, and then we can see if it can be integrated next update.

Thank you very much for developing this plant, Eldor.

Another aura for you!

[Eldor Delrossa]

@Shabba: Thank you Master Anfang. I hope that I can stay as close to Santharia as possible. I just love contributing to this grand world of ours, even if my contributions are minimal and a tad insignificant compared to most. Hopefully I can change that as my attendance improves. Fixed!

@Dek: I'm glad that you enjoyed it! I was hoping that I would be able to do it justice, and I thankfully succeeded. And any time Dek. Thank YOU for giving me an opportunity to jump back into the swing of things (or at least start to). I'm planning my next entries as we speak.

[Artimidor Federkiel]

Yep, I think as well that this does the job and we're ready to mark it for integration! And BTW, Eldor: Even smaller contributions are important to make the whole thing (our world) work and enrich it. The important thing is that you enjoy the world and what you're doing in it, and the more you work on a contribution, big or small, the better and more embedded it will get, no doubt, practically automatically.

Thus: One more aura +1 from here that you've found your way back to the Dream to make the final touches on these two entries! Looking forward to more! 

[Deklitch Hardin]

Congratulations Eldor! 2 entries in one update! As the Mask would say you're "smokin'"!

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[Artimidor Federkiel]

Last 10 Shouts: Artimidor Federkiel Yesterday at 23:44:26 The Goltherlon forest is on the site, including a map - right here... Azhira Styralias Yesterday at 23:11:32 Nevermind Azhira Styralias Yesterday at 23:02:30 Quick question: Where is the Goltherion Forest? Seeker 22 May 2012, 07:41:35 Are Shabby and Dek the same person in my mind.  Strange. Artimidor Federkiel 20 May 2012, 10:38:19 Ah yes, forgot to point out to Shabakuk that Chapter 5 is ready for testing - will do so now! Deklitch Hardin 18 May 2012, 09:35:51 I am pleased it is going well for you though Seeker ... can't wait to try it and die. Deklitch Hardin 18 May 2012, 09:35:13 No, I didn't Seeker. I think it is Master Anfang who is doing the testing Seeker 18 May 2012, 08:30:42 Dek-   shoals is going very well.  Art is starting on chapter 6. A very important chapter.  Did you test chapter 5? Valan Nonesuch 15 May 2012, 05:41:48 *Valan filches some parchments from around the corners of the pile before sauntering off attempting to look casual and tripping over the hem of his robes.* Bard Judith 14 May 2012, 07:33:29 Waiiiiiit!   (Bard staggers back with a pile of Unfinished Projects so high her arms are trembling)  Let me stuff mine in there before you lock the room!  *looks guiltily around and snatches the Quenyss parchment off the top of the stack*

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